Government Operations Committee on May 6th, 2008

[Lysanne Gauvin]

According to information we've submitted to the committee, on page 12, you will see that...

[Raymonde Folco, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

Pardon me. On page 2...

[Lysanne Gauvin]

It is on page 12.

[Raymonde Folco, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

Pardon me. You speak so softly it is at times difficult to hear you.

[Lysanne Gauvin]

I'm rarely told that.

This table shows the percentage of employees who are visible minorities. Based on the 2001 labour market availability census information collected by Statistics Canada, visible minorities make up 12.5% of this category. In 2004, 13.2% of our employees identified themselves as visible minorities. In 2007, this percentage increased to 14.5% of all employees throughout the country.

[Raymonde Folco, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

That was in 2007. What does this last figure, 12.5%, refer to?

[Lysanne Gauvin]

That is the labour market availability. What we try to do is to, at the very least, match the labour market availability, and if possible exceed it.

[Raymonde Folco, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

The second question I need to ask you is the following: to go from 13.2% to 14.5% appears to be a net improvement. Nonetheless, some people leave their jobs and may or may not be replaced by people who belong to visible minority groups. Do you have specific figures concerning turnover rates for these minority groups?

[Lysanne Gauvin]

No.

[Raymonde Folco, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

Is that a piece of information you can obtain?

[Lysanne Gauvin]

We can check to see if it's possible to obtain the turnover rates for visible minorities within our agency. I'm not sure we have that specific piece of information, but we can try and locate it.

[Raymonde Folco, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

Once visible minorities are hired, and if they decide to leave, is there an interview held before their departure to understand their reasons for leaving?

[Lysanne Gauvin]

At the agency, this is not done systematically. It is quite possible that other offices decide to use that approach. With respect to human resources, we have just completed a pilot project that did just that, but the project did not focus solely on visible minorities. We looked at all of the employees who left human resources over the last year.

[Raymonde Folco, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

I see. Do you use the information collected during these exit interviews to adjust the system?

[Lysanne Gauvin]

Absolutely. We have assessed three groups of employees in human resources and employees who have left over the past year. We also conducted a survey of new employees who have just joined us and of employees who are eligible for retirement in two years, if they decide to take it. One aspect that came out of these surveys is that new employees felt they would have benefited from better orientation, more targeted to their jobs. We have now noted that. We will review our orientation program and see what needs to be done to respond to that comment. That is something simple enough to correct. If that means that an employee feels like he is part of the family earlier on, it is better for us.

[Raymonde Folco, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

Ms. Gauvin, since it was and continues to be a pilot project, could you send the guidelines as well as the results to the chair of the committee?

[Lysanne Gauvin]

Of course.

[Raymonde Folco, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Diane Marleau]

We will now go to Mr. Ouellet.

[Christian Ouellet, Bloc, Brome—Missisquoi, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Ms. Gauvin, I would like to know what “HQ” stands for.

[Lysanne Gauvin]

What page are you on?

[Christian Ouellet, Bloc, Brome—Missisquoi, QC]

It is on every page, throughout the document.

[Lysanne Gauvin]

It stands for “headquarters”.

[Christian Ouellet, Bloc, Brome—Missisquoi, QC]

The headquarters is in Ontario, is it not?

[Lysanne Gauvin]

In Ottawa, essentially.